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Psychology Internship

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Philosophy


The primary mission of the program is to prepare interns for assuming a dynamic role in the rapidly changing world of professional psychology. Our training program is consistent with the Practitioner- Scholar Model. It is a model that emphasizes learning-by-doing in an environment that allows for reflection and  mentoring. Clinical work experience involves contact with a diverse population of clients. We focus on clinical practice and service delivery, guiding the intern through a series of developmental stages from the apprentice mentee to colleague. Our ultimate goal is to train the intern to be ready for independent practice. Although we do not identify directly with the Scientist-Practitioner Model, we do expect that interns become educated consumers of clinical research. We encourage the interns to think critically and to evaluate the findings of research-based knowledge within  their local clinical context. While we provide ample didactic training, our primary emphasis is on fostering the intern's use of self and creativity in professional practice.

While there have been many changes in the field of clinical practice, it is our belief that there are two core skills required of clinical and counseling psychologists. First, they must have proficiency as diagnosticians who can assess psychopathology and formulate treatment strategies. Second, they must be flexible and adaptive treating clinicians, responsive to a range of presenting problems. The net effect of our training efforts is to guide the intern in becoming an effective practitioner in both psychological assessment and psychotherapeutic process, and thereby provide a foundation for specialization and the refinement of one’s professional identity.

It should be understood that we are a generalist training program. We are not designed to provide interns with specialist training. We feel that specialization should be pursued at the post-doctoral level. We emphasize intensive (broadly, psychodynamic) psychotherapy and psychological assessment, while at the same time offering adjunctive/elective experiences (e.g., child and adolescent psychiatry/psychology,  neuropsychology, health psychology, chemical dependency, crisis management, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and Dialectical Behavior Therapy). Students from a variety of programs, representing divergent theoretical orientations, will find that our generalist atmosphere respects and nurtures previous training while fostering professional growth.